This invention relates generally to athletic shoe spike or cleat tools, and more specifically to a tool design to be used with spikes of rubber or plastic, which wear down upon use, such as soccer shoes and juvenile softball and baseball shoes.
Soccer shoes, softball shoes and the like typically include cleats extending from the sole of the shoe to improve the traction of the shoe. The cleats are generally in the shape of truncated cones having inclined sides and a flat end portion for contacting the ground. Typically, such cleats are manufactured of resilient plastic or rubber. Often these cleats are removably attached to the shoe by a screw type mechanism. Shoes are manufactured with these removable cleats so that the cleats can be replaced when worn, or changed when a wearer desires different cleats for different weather or different playing surface conditions. These removable cleats typically include a base portion having prong-shaped indentations or a hexagon-type outer shape such that a correspondingly shaped wrench can effect tightening or loosening of the cleat base relative to the shoe.
When athletes wear cleats on soccer fields, baseball fields, or the like, sharp objects such as glass, sticks or rocks can mar or deform the outer surface of the cleat. Specifically, the cleat's side surface can become worn or deformed such that plastic burrs or projections extend outwardly from the cleat. To maximize traction of the cleats, these burrs should be removed. Additionally, when such shoes are used in muddy or thick grass conditions, debris becomes adhered to the outer surface of the cleat. The debris, such as mud and grass, becomes more tightly packed about the cleat with each step the user takes. To increase traction of the cleats, the debris should be removed from around the cleat. Often, the debris is so tightly packed that scraping only one side of the rounded cleat is insufficient to remove the debris and repeated scrapings are necessary.
Also, it is typical that before a game begins, referees inspect the cleats of each player to make sure the players' cleats are free of burrs. Apparently the feeling is that burrs and the like can result in players injuring one another in the event cleats of one player come into contact with another player.
There are several prior art devices which have attempted to address these problems. U.S. Pat. No. 2,509,980 to McCallum describes a shoe cleat remover. However, the McCallum device serves only this one function and is not used to clean debris away from the cleat. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 2,881,648 to Hottle describes a cleat removal device that is not used for cleaning debris from the cleat. Everroad, U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,138, describes a shoe prong wrench and cleaning tool, but the tool does not include multiple removal or multiple cleaning devices. In addition, the tool must be manipulated into the "working position" from the "folded rest position" before use. Blagden, U.S. Pat. No. 3,105,257, describes an article for cleaning golf shoes and golf clubs but this device does not encircle a spike to remove packed mud or grass from around the golf shoe spoke, and so repeated scrapings are required.
Thus, there is a need for a compact, inexpensive cleat care device which can be used to remove burrs from the cleat, remove debris from around the cleat, and which can be used for tightening and loosening removable cleats. Additionally, there is a need for a cleat care device which encircles a cleat to allow the user to apply force to remove debris in one motion, without the device slipping off the cleat and without requiring repeated scrapings. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the drawbacks and limitations of the proposals of the prior art. More specifically, the present invention has as its objects the following:
(1) a versatile multi-tool device that performs several functions such as cleat removal/fastening, cleat cleaning and burr removal; PA1 (2) a device manufactured to facilitate leverage for turning the device to effect cleat removal or cleaning; PA1 (3) a device that is inexpensive to manufacture; PA1 (4) a device that easily can be used by children; PA1 (5) a compact device that can be carried in a pocket; PA1 (6) a durable device having no moving parts; and PA1 (7) a device that cleans debris in one motion without repeated scrapings.